Black Escape
by ChoCedric
Summary: Four times Sirius Black was able to escape his fate and one time he wasn't. Strangely enough, though, the time he could not escape was the time he was set free.


Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Author's Note: I hope you enjoy this. This is yet another fic I did before, but felt the need to edit it. I felt that there were a few mistakes in the sentence structure, plus some canon errors. Please review and let me know what you think!

Black Escape

By: ChoCedric

I. He escapes Slytherin.

Emotions roil through Sirius Black as Professor McGonagall calls his name, and he goes up to the stool and places the Sorting Hat on his head. He's happy, because he's finally at Hogwarts. He's angry, because his family didn't give him a heartfelt goodbye, for they don't really care. He's nervous, because he doesn't want to go into Slytherin. He's scared, because if he doesn't go into Slytherin, what will his family think of him?

"Hmm," says a voice inside his head, which he realizes belongs to the hat. "Very interesting. A very, very interesting Black indeed. Not like your family, are you?"

No, Sirius thinks to himself.

"But yet, you're scared," the hat comments. "You want to be different from them, but yet you still want their approval. Your rebellious side is winning, however, and you show tremendous courage. I am informing you right now that you would not do well in Slytherin. You have a certain knack for going against authority, and your skills must be honed and put to good use. You will also find some of the greatest and strongest friendships during your Hogwarts career, and you will prosper from them."

The hat goes silent then, and Sirius stares into space, waiting for it to make its final decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Emotions still churning within him, half-relieved and half-anxious, Sirius takes off the hat and goes to the Gryffindor table. He is the first in his year to be sorted into Gryffindor, and he wonders who else will join him. Then, a grin forms on his face, and he vows to himself that even though his family will most likely yell and scream and sneer at him, he will thrive in this house, because he's always gone against the family beliefs and thought Muggle-borns and Muggles are just as worthy of having magic as purebloods. He just learned today from a boy named Remus Lupin that "mudblood" is a bad word; he was informed of that on the train when the word casually slipped from his mouth. He has resolved to never say it again.

As the years pass, Sirius is astounded by how clever that hat was, because it is right. The strongest and most unbreakable bond forms between him and his three roommates, and he becomes more glad everyday that he went against his family. Problems at home are mounting, but he's lucky to have gotten away. This was his first escape.

II. He escaped from Grimmauld Place for good.

It is another day in the Noble and Most Ancient House of Bullshit, as Sirius likes to call it. His mother is throwing a hissy fit as usual, telling him how unworthy his friends are and that he should never have been sorted into Gryffindor. "Shame of my flesh!" Walburga yells, spittle flying out of her mouth.

"You are a very, very big disappointment to this entire family," Orion Black says in a low voice. "We are severely ashamed of you."

"Yeah, I saw you talking to that Evans mudblood at school this year," drawls Regulus, smirking.

"Shut the hell up, all of you!" Sirius roars. "I hate you all, you're no family of mine! Lily Evans is the smartest witch in the school, just so you know, little Reggie," he says, spitting out his brother's name like it's poison. "And my friends are the greatest people you could ever know. You're so blind, you're so bigoted, you're so obsessed with blood purity that you can't look past it!"

"Do you know what?" Walburga shrieks. "We would all have been better off if you had died in my womb! Blood traitor! Abomination! Waste of human flesh! You are no son of mine!"

"Well, good!" Sirius snarls. "Because I don't want to be your son! I'm leaving!" And with that, he storms to his room to pack his trunk.

Once he is finished, he goes downstairs, dragging his trunk behind him, only to see his entire family looking at him with anger and disdain. Before he can escape out the front door, Walburga beckons him into the drawing room. Knowing what he's going to see and privately being ecstatic at it, Sirius walks in. Walburga points her wand at a spot that says "Sirius Orion Black" on the family tapestry. Screaming an incantation, she watches as there is a tiny explosion. Sirius, his father, and Regulus are also watching with rapt attention as his name is blasted off the family tree.

Years ago, Sirius would have been upset over the fact that if his family were to disown him, it would be like he didn't exist to them, but now he feels a thrill go through him. He laughs maniacally at their faces and spits on the floor at their feet. "That's what I think of you, you stupid ..." He says a word that would make Remus give him a disapproving frown.

"GET OUT!" Walburga shrieks, "and never dampen our doorstep again! You are not my son anymore!"

"When you walk out that door, know that you can never return," says Orion, still in his low voice.

"You're choosing the wrong side, Sirius," Regulus taunts, "and you'll lose everything."

"I hate you," Sirius says in reply, sticking his middle finger up at all of them. He then walks out of the drawing room and to the front door, flinging it open. Once he is out in the fresh air, he summons the Knight Bus and tells the driver to drop him off at James Potter's house. A pure adrenaline rush seizes him as he realizes he has left his family for good; he has left all that hatred and bigotry and narrowmindedness and prejudice behind.

III. He escapes from Azkaban.

Cornelius Fudge has just given him a newspaper, and it has someone on it who Sirius once thought was one of his greatest friends, Peter Pettigrew. He knows that if he doesn't get to Harry, the only remaining Potter will perish at Peter's hand, and Sirius can't bear the thought of his godson's lifeless green eyes. I promise, James, Lily, he vows to himself. I'll save your boy if it's the last thing I do.

He spends the next few torturous days planning his escape. When he is ready, he waits for a dementor to bring food to his cell. Once it happens, he slips between the bars of his cell as Padfoot, all the while thanking God for Remus. If it wasn't for him, he'd never have this skill.

Before he even realizes it, he is out of the prison and in the freezing cold ocean. He swims all the way to shore; then, shivering and shaking, he curls up on the beach, still as a dog.

His journey to Hogwarts is long and painful, but Sirius has the perseverance and he manages it. Harry, Harry, Harry, he chants over and over in his head when he feels like giving up. He knows that headlines are featuring his name everywhere, and he knows if anyone catches him, they'll get a huge reward.

The nights are the worst for Sirius. The cackles of laughter, the insane screams, and the stench of Azkaban haunt his mind. He finds comfort in the thought of Harry, however, and tries to keep his spirits up. He continues on his perilous trek, hoping he can get to his beloved godson and tell him the truth before Peter strikes.

IV. He escapes from Hogwarts.

He has just finished talking to Albus Dumbledore in Flitwick's office, and the old Headmaster thankfully believed his story. But he knows his fate is sealed; he knows there's nothing Dumbledore can say to sway the Minister from his decision to sentence him to the Dementor's Kiss. He just hopes that the Headmaster will protect Harry, like he said he would.

But all of a sudden, he hears a tap on the window. Looking out, he sees ... oh Merlin! ... Harry, his friend Hermione, and a hippogriff. And this is his chance for freedom, his chance to finally do right by Lily and James. He's ecstatic that Harry knows the truth now, and he also has his best friend Remus back, even after all the suspicions and misunderstandings. He climbs on the hippogriff, and as he soars off into the night, leaving Harry and Hermione behind, he thanks his lucky stars that he has Albus Dumbledore. He gave him the chance to prove himself, once and for all.

V. He can't escape death.

Sirius is fighting for his life, fighting for his freedom, fighting for love, fighting for happiness, and above all, fighting for his godson. He is currently standing in the Department of Mysteries, watching Harry and his friends shoot down Death Eaters while he is fiercely battling his own. Fear courses through him; Harry is way too young for this, and how did he get himself into this mess? It's not fair that the boy was thrust into a world of evil; he hardly had a chance to be a child!

It is deranged people like the bitch he is fighting now which make him so angry. Bellatrix Lestrange, his foul cousin, shoots curses at him left and right. Sirius hasn't felt this alive in years; he feels the adrenaline pour through him, the thrum of battle. A wide, manic smile lights his face, and he ducks a stupefy spell, yelling at Bellatrix, "You can do better than that!" He laughs, and the laughter has a streak of madness in it, but Sirius doesn't care; he feels half-insane right now, anyway.

But suddenly, a second red jet of light hits him straight in his chest and he begins to fall backwards. His gray eyes widen in shock, knowing for a fact that what's coming has been chasing him for many, many years, and this time, he can't escape it. Sirius Black has always ran from everything, but finally, here's a situation he can't just flee from.

As he falls, he thinks of Harry, and hopes the boy won't blame himself. He was tricked by Voldemort, and he hopes like hell that the snake-faced bastard is destroyed soon, once and for all, never to return again. He thinks of Remus, knowing that he can move on, that he will be sad but yet he can pick up the pieces and go on with his life, for he is an extremely strong man. And finally, he thinks of James and Lily, and moments after he falls, he finds himself in their arms. His life has come full circle, and finally, he is free. It is strange that the one thing he couldn't escape, the one thing he couldn't have run from, gave him this freedom. As he hugs his best friend and his wife, he looks through a doorway back to the fight in the Ministry, and says a silent prayer. Merlin, let them be okay.

And Sirius Black doesn't have to escape anything anymore, for he has finally been freed from his chains.  



End file.
